A woodpecker and a football player walk into a bar ...

Okay, so this isn't a bar joke. It is, however a fascinating comparison of woodpecker heads and the concussion problem facing NFL players (yes, I said "pecker" and "heads" in the same sentence, we'll wait while you giggle ...).

If you've read THE ROOKIE and THE STARTER, you may know that concussions are a big deal in football. Concussions will play heavily in the future plotline of the GFL series. Read the article and see what you think, while at the same time discovering a bitching blog.

I haven't asked, but I think Jennifer roots for the Bartel Water Bugs.

7 Comments

Very accessible for those non-science-y types (like moi). And she's really onto something here with the woodpecker/football idea. Thanks for the link.[flickr-photo:id=5069365035, size=m] [flickr-photo:id=4347154616] Pusher and member of the Gutter Sistren

It would be interesting to see what will come of this and the new types of saftey gear they will produce to reduce the risk of such brain damage...who know a little bird would spark this type of research....

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Does someone go into the park and, uh... lift up the dinosaurs' skirts?

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Does someone go into the park and, uh... lift up the dinosaurs' skirts?

Hey, On this subject, here in the UK we have an excellent science series called horizon. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ylxg8 A recent one was about how to survive a car crash. The link to the topic? Is that, the Miami Hurricanes all have small recording devices in their helmets to record the concussive forces they experience during football games (we would say American football as football over here is played with your feet-but I won't get into that now). Anyway, the upshot is that this research is helpin improve football helmet design and car impact safety features. The data collected provides information about the highest level of impact the human body can withstand before damage occurs.

Maybe some futuristic implanted air-bags for the brain? who knows? I should get cracking on that right away. I could be the savior of the Brotherhood of Pig-Skin Eaters! I'm sure the FDO is gonna want some kind of royalty since I came up with this idea in his Kingdom.